Dodgers fans uncover hilarious origin story for new Shohei Ohtani celebration

Most of the celebrations the Dodgers debuted in 2024 rolled over into the new season — the Freddie Freeman hip-wiggle into Dragon Ball Z hip-twitch whenever anyone gets on base, the sunflower seed shower after a home run — in what's probably a case of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.'

And the Dodgers have certainly had a lot of reason to employ all of them. They have 59 hits altogether and an NL-leading 18 home runs and, of course, are undefeated through their first eight games, a franchise record.

That eighth win was solidified against the Braves when Shohei Ohtani hit his third homer of the season (on his bobblehead night, no less) to walk it off. As he approached home plate, he was met with the requisite water shower, but he also did something curious; he pinched his thumb and forefinger close together and moved them over his eyes.

Dodgers fans were quick to sleuth for the reference, just like they did last year when Kiké Hernández pulled out a short-lived celly mimicking Team Australia's break dancing Olympian (who failed to score a point), Raygun.

The social media admin at Dodger Blue figured out that it was self-referential, poking a little bit of fun at an ad Ohtani did in 2024 for the Japanese luxury cosmetic brand Decorté.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani's new homer celebration has its roots in a 2024 cosmetic ad

It's hard to say how long this particular celebration will stick around; maybe the Dodgers are just piloting a few new ones to tack onto what's already been working. But Ohtani's large catalog of ads, sponsorships, and endorsements will give them no shortage of options, if that's what they're pulling from.

The Dodgers might only be paying Ohtani $2 million a year through the duration of his 10-year contract, but he was said to be making around $100 million a year in endorsements as of 2024, so he's certainly not hurting for income. The team is also a direct beneficiary of having Ohtani's megawatt star-power in the lineup, if the amount of Japanese sponsorships they've racked up have anything to show for it.

Maybe Ohtani will only ever pull this particular celebration out if he's just hit a walk-off homer (the one against the Braves was the second in his career), but with the way things are going, we might see a lot more of it if that is the case.